Albany Law School vs Southwestern Law School
Where graduates end up, what each school really costs, and who gets in, side by side from each school's official ABA data. Add your LSAT and GPA to see your chances and scholarship estimates at both.
VS
Add your numbersSee your admission chances and scholarship estimates at both schools.
The short version
- =About the same placement. 4.7% of Albany's Class of 2025 and 4.5% of Southwestern's went to BigLaw or federal clerkships.
- Albany costs about $79K less over three years after the average scholarship: $162K against $241K, and more of its students get a scholarship (94% vs 72%).
- Albany is harder to get into: a 158 median LSAT and a 37.5% acceptance rate, against 157 and 36.5% at Southwestern.
- Albany has the higher first time bar pass rate: 86.7% against 72.1%.
Albany
vs
Southwestern
Where graduates go
Albany leads 4 of 5
✓4.7%
BigLaw + federal clerkships
4.5%
3.1%
BigLaw (501+ attorney firms)
✓4.1%
✓1.6%
Federal clerkships
0.3%
✓92.7%
Graduates employed
87.6%
✓86.7%
First time bar passage
72.1%
What it costs
Albany leads 4 of 4
✓$162K
Three year net cost
$241K
✓94%
Students receiving a scholarship
72%
✓$38,000/yr
Median scholarship (recipients)
$29,166/yr
✓$32,002/yr
Average scholarship (all students)
$20,745/yr
Who gets in
Acceptance rate: Albany 37.5% · Southwestern 36.5%
LSAT
Bars run from the 25th to the 75th percentile, with the median marked.
Albany
154158161
Southwestern
154157160
152154156158160162164
GPA
Undergraduate GPA of the entering class, same scale for both schools.
Albany
3.163.543.75
Southwestern
3.233.513.72
3.103.203.303.403.503.603.703.80
Albany Law School
Southwestern Law School
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Frequently asked questions
Is Albany or Southwestern better for BigLaw?
Albany placed more of its Class of 2025 in BigLaw or federal clerkships: 4.7% against 4.5%. By BigLaw alone (firms of 501+ attorneys), Albany placed 3.1% and Southwestern placed 4.1%. Federal clerkships were 1.6% at Albany and 0.3% at Southwestern.
Which is harder to get into, Albany or Southwestern?
Albany's Fall 2025 entering class had a median LSAT of 158 and a median GPA of 3.54, with a 37.5% acceptance rate. Southwestern's had 157 and 3.51, with 36.5%. Add your LSAT and GPA above to see your estimated chances at both.
Which costs less, Albany or Southwestern?
After the average scholarship, three years cost about $162K at Albany and $241K at Southwestern, including living costs. Public schools are shown at out of state tuition. Your own scholarship can move these numbers a lot, so add your numbers above for an estimate.
Which gives more scholarship money, Albany or Southwestern?
94% of Albany students receive a scholarship, with a median award of $38,000 a year among recipients. 72% of Southwestern students receive a scholarship, with a median award of $29,166 a year among recipients.
Which has the better bar passage rate?
86.7% of Albany's first time takers passed in 2025, against 72.1% at Southwestern. Each school's profile shows how that compares with the states where its graduates sat.
Should I choose Albany or Southwestern?
It depends on your goals, your odds and your offers. Compare where each school's graduates end up, then add your LSAT and GPA above to see your estimated chances and scholarships at both. Your scholarship offer usually changes the cost more than anything else.
What a higher LSAT changes
Move the LSAT slider in the admissions calculator to watch your odds and scholarship estimates change at every school.
Figures come from each school’s official ABA disclosures. Admission chances and scholarship estimates are modeled from that data and are not predictions of any individual decision. Our data and methodology